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Lionel Luthor (Smallville)
| Death = | HistoryText = Although Lionel Luthor claims to have hailed from a noble, Scottish family line – in truth, he was but one of many poor children growing up in the squalor of the Metropolis neighborhood known as Suicide Slum. Smallville Episode: Relic His father, Lachlan Luthor, was an abusive man who violently took his aggressions out on young Lionel. His mother Eliza, frequently inebriated with gin, rarely interfered with her husband's rampages and largely ignored Lionel. Smallville episode: Shattered Lionel's only childhood friend was Morgan Edge – a man whose life would ultimately mirror Lionel's to great extent. Morgan knew Lionel well and was keenly aware of the cycle of abuse that his friend suffered. Edge would one day grow up to run the underworld empire known as Intergang. When Lionel was a young man, he decided that his parents were of greater value to him dead than alive. He arranged for an arsonist to burn down his parents' apartment building, killing them while they slept. Lionel maintained the alibi that he was working late at a print shop on the night that his parents died. Collecting the insurance money, Lionel enrolled in an Ivy League school where he greatly excelled in all of his courses. Reluctant to tell his peers the truth about his upbringing, he often played up the idea that the Luthors were of distinguished Scottish bearing. Smallville episode: Relic Shortly after graduation, Lionel returned to Metropolis and used the remainder of his parents' life insurance policy to establish Luthor Industries. L.I. prospered and eventually became a multinational empire known as LuthorCorp. During this time, Lionel met and fell in love with a woman named Lillian. The two were wed and they sired two sons, Lex and Julian Luthor. Sadly however Lillian would eventually smother Julian to death. This was due to the fact that Lionel had always put Lex through test and trials, and was also very abusive towards him. This had a very negative affect on Lex's mind and eventually shaped him into the man who would become. Lillian, not wanting another child of hers to suffer and become a "monster," smothered Julian to death. Ultimately, Lex took the blame for Julian's death in order to protect his mother from Lionel's wrath . This created a huge rift between Lex and Lionel, with Lionel being very uncaring and cold towards lex. However, because Lex was his only heir, Lionel would always look out for him. Lionel had many affairs, one of which resulted in the birth of a child named Lucas. He also became a member of the Veritas society, a group who believed that an alien wielding great power known as the "Traveller" would one day arrive on Earth. From the beginning, Lionel wanted to take control of this alien, hoping to use the power for himself. It is strongly implied that he had other members of the society killed, including Oliver Queen's parents. Eventually Lionel arrived in Smallville to find the traveller on the day of the meteor shower, during the incident his son Lex was injured by the meteorites. Lex's hair was completely blown off, and the meteorites mutated him giving him a metahuman immune system. Lionel's men searched for the traveller who arrived in the shower though the actual traveller was discovered by the Kents. Lionel's men discovered the Doomsday creature that had attached itself to Kal-El's space craft. Initially thinking this creature to be the traveller, Lionel took it into his house where it befriended a young Lex. Ultimately, he threw the beast onto the street when he discovered it was not the traveller. Lionel was also able to get a position of power in Smallville thanks to blackmailing Jonathan kent into helping him. The Kents had helped save Lex's life during the meteor shower, and Lionel repaid them by helping them adopt their son, Clark. Lional later used this to blackmail Jonathan Kent. Lionel would later send his son Lex to manage one of his Luthorcorp facilities in Smallville. | Powers = Under normal circumstances, Lionel Luthor did not possess any superhuman capabilities. On one occasion however, he came into possession of a Kryptonian relic that enabled him to switch minds with Clark Kent. Inhabiting Kent's body, Lionel had access to all of Clark's powers, but he was only aware of a few of his abilities. He used super-strength to lift a tractor. He used heat-vision to accidentally start a fire at the Kent Farm, then used his invulnerability to put the fire out. After unwillingly returning to his normal body, Lionel lost all memory of the incident, but felt a great change come over him, as if a portion of Clark's strong moral fiber had remained behind. Smallville Episode: Transference | Abilities = * Business Management: Lionel Luthor was a cutthroat businessman and an expert strategist. He negotiated the boardroom the way a Roman general would lead a battlefield. | Strength = Above Average: Although middle aged, Lionel Luthor was in surprisingly good shape. He possessed the strength level of a man his age, size and weight who engaged in intensive regular exercise. While functioning as a conduit for the spirit of Jor-El, Lionel's strength and stamina appeared to increase. However, this was only a temporary effect. | Weaknesses = | Equipment = | Transportation = Lionel availed himself of several vehicles owned by LuthorCorp - notably his personal limousine and helicopter. | Weapons = Lionel was known to always keep a handgun secreted away for emergency use, but traditionally he did not carry any weaponry. In his own mind, Lionel considered Clark Kent as his own "secret weapon". Lionel also briefly kept a kryptonite cage. | Notes = * The character of Lionel Luthor was exclusive to the continuity of the WB/CW television series Smallville, prior to the character being introduced into the comics with a similar characterization. See Lionel Luthor (New Earth). * Actor John Glover plays the role of Lionel Luthor on Smallville * In other media, very little mention has ever been made of Lex's father. Perhaps as a nod to this, before he kills Lionel, Lex remarks that "No one will even remember your name" * Lionel had three sons Julian, Lex and Lucas. While Julian is deceased, it is not known what the current status of either Lex or Lucas is. Though Lex was apparently killed by Oliver Queen, Dr Light recently mentioned that Lex lives and will one day become the greatest threat to Clark Kent. | Trivia = * DC Comics has made several in-continuity winks to the character and Lex Luthor has even hinted that his father's name may have been Lionel. Teen Titans (Volume 3) #26 In one instance, Luthor hired an actor to play the part of his foster father in order to enroll him at Smallville High School. The actor in question bore a physical resemblance to Lionel Luthor. Superman/Batman Secret Files and Origins (2003) It has since been established that Lionel Luthor is Lex's legitimate father in canon DC Comics continuity. | DC = | Wikipedia = Lionel Luthor | Links = * Lionel Luthor article at Smallville Wiki }} Category:Good Characters Category:Bad Characters Category:Businesspeople Category:Business Management Category:Gestalt Characters Category:Modern-Age Characters Category:Reformed Criminals Category:2001 Character Debuts Category:Intergang members Category:LexCorp members